The Journal of Arthroplasty
Volume 25, Issue 2 , Pages 191-196, February 2010

The Cost-effectiveness of Routine Follow-up After Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty

  • Katharina Maria Dorothea Bolz, MSc

      Affiliations

    • Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
    • ,
  • Ross W. Crawford, FRACS, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
    • Orthopedic Research Unit, Clinical Science Building, Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
    • ,
  • Bill Donnelly, FRACS

      Affiliations

    • Orthopedic Research Unit, Clinical Science Building, Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
    • Brisbane Orthopaedic Specialist Services, Brisbane, Australia
    • ,
  • Sarah L. Whitehouse, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
    • Orthopedic Research Unit, Clinical Science Building, Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
    • ,
  • Nicholas Graves, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
    • The Centre for Healthcare Related Infection Surveillance and Prevention, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Nicholas Graves, PhD, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove QLD 4059, Australia.

Received 31 July 2008; accepted 27 December 2008. published online 05 February 2009.

Abstract 

Routine postsurgery assessment of primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) is recommended in many countries. Whether the benefits of this activity are justified by the costs is not known. We used a decision-analytic Markov model to compare the costs and health outcomes of 3 different follow-up strategies after primary THA. If there is no routine follow-up of patients for 7 years after primary THA, there would be cost savings between AU$6.5 and $11.9 million and gains of between 1.8 and 8.8 quality-adjusted life years. Policy makers should investigate less resource-intensive alternatives to common routine postsurgical assessment.

Keywords: total hip arthroplasty, follow-up, economic analysis, Markov model, cost-effectiveness, cohort simulation

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 No benefits or funds were received in support of the study.

PII: S0883-5403(08)01006-1

doi:10.1016/j.arth.2008.12.009

The Journal of Arthroplasty
Volume 25, Issue 2 , Pages 191-196, February 2010

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